


The Search

by Baykit



Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Comedy, Detectives, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 12,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23521051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baykit/pseuds/Baykit
Summary: After receiving a disturbing phone call from Sylvester, Molly and Percy must find him before he's lost forever.
Comments: 36
Kudos: 137





	1. The Phone Call

“You sure can’t it to my presentation?” Sylvester asked, his phone pressed up to his ear.

“I’m sorry!” Molly cried, “But we have a customer coming in to pick up an order tomorrow and I know I can’t trust my dad to stay at the counter…”

“No, I get it. I’ve met him. How about I come over to the toy store afterwards? We can hang out and you don’t have to leave…hm?” Sylvester said.

“Sylvie? Is something wrong?” Molly asked.

“Nothing. I just thought I saw something for a moment,” Sylvester answered.

“Aren’t you home yet? It’s getting dark,” Molly said as she pulled on the fluffy hem of her jacket.

“I’m almost there, it’s just around the corner,” Sylvester said, “you don’t need to worry…hm? Sir? Can I…hnnrk?!”

“Sylvie?” Molly squeaked.

Molly’s question was answered by a clattering noise. Molly squished the store phone against her ear, pressing so hard that she started to feel a dull ache against her skull. Molly heard a series of odd muffled cries and scratching noises before hearing a dull thud.

“Sylvie?” Molly asked again.

Then Molly heard raspy, heavy breathing, a crunch, and then the call dropped. Molly sat, frozen on her stool before she started to feel dizzy. Oh, that’s right, she remembered. She had to breathe. She took a deep, if a bit shaky, breathe and gave her cheeks a light slap. This was no time to panic, something was wrong and Sylvie needed her help. Molly dialed 911.

“Hello, 911” an operator answered.

“Hello, this is Molly Blyndeff from the Blyndeff Toy Emporium. I was just on the phone with my friend and I think I heard them being attacked,” Molly said.

“I see, do you know his last known location?” the operator asked.

“Not exactly, but I know he said he was near his house and that’s 425 Treble street,” Molly said.

“Understood, I will send officers to that location and I am sending an officer to your location,” the operator said.

Molly hung up the phone and placed her hands in her lap. It wasn’t long before she started fidgeting, pulling on her dark brown curls and squishing the marshmallow-like stars that grew in her hair. There had to be something she could do while she waited. Then she thought, oh, maybe I should pack a bag! Sylvie might be hurt. She should pack a first aid kit.

Molly slid off the stool and rushed up stairs to grab her backpack. She then proceeded to bustle around her family’s living quarters and the toy store, grabbing anything she thought might be useful. By the time she was done, her bag looked like she had packed for a week long trip into the mountains. Before she could think of what to leave behind, a familiar face entered the store.

“Officer Percy!” Molly exclaimed.

“Ah, Molly. I was wondering if it might be you when I heard the call come in,” Percy said as she straightened her tie, taking out a notepad and a pen, “Please, if you could, tell me exactly why you placed the 911 call?”

“Oh, right. I was talking on the phone with Sylvester,” Molly started.

“Sylvester? The same young man who was injured in the incident at the Sweet Jazz City Museum?” Percy interrupted.

“Yes,” Molly continued, “we were talking and he just made a weird noise and then there was a clatter, I think he dropped his phone and there were a lot of weird noises. And then there was this breathing, really heavy breathing, and then the call dropped.”

“Hmm,” Percy said as she rubbed her gloved hand across her chin, “that is strange but not an immediate cause for alarm. I’ll tell you what, let’s go meet up with the officers that were sent to his location? I’m sure they have already found him and will be happy to see you.”

“Oh, thank you, I’d like that very much,” Molly said.

“Alright, let’s go then,” Percy stated.

With that, Percy spun around abruptly and Molly marveled at the fact that she managed to not smack herself in the leg with her sword. Molly shrugged on her backpack and caught sight of her yellow boots as she nearly tipped over backwards. But she righted herself and hurried after Percy, turning around only for a moment to lock the doors of the store behind her.


	2. An Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly and Percy meet up with a new friend

The car ride was both quiet and awkward. Percy refused to turn on the siren for this particular drive, so they were forced to match the slow, meandering pace of Sweet Jazz City traffic. Molly considered asking if she could turn the radio but hesitated, not knowing if police cars even came equipped with a normal radio.

“So,” Percy said stiffly, “I know you’re worried about your friend, but am I correct in remembering that he has an epithet?”

“Oh, uh yes. He does. It’s a really good one too,” Molly replied as she started playing with the hem of her jacket again.

“So he’s quite capable then?” Percy asked.

“Yes, he really is,” Molly said, “and I’m not doubting that he can take care of himself. It’s just, this isn’t like him.”

“What isn’t?” Percy inquired.

“This!” Molly shouted, raising her arms above her head, “Losing his phone! Not calling me back immediately after the call dropped!”

Molly stopped as she felt a sob threatening to escape her throat. She balled up the soft fabric of her jacket in her hands as she blinked back tears.

“I’m sorry,” Percy said, “I didn’t mean to make you upset. My job is not only to protect this city from threats, but to bring comfort and peace of mind to its citizens.”

“I know. It’s okay,” Molly replied.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence until Percy pulled in behind the two squad cars that were parked on Treble Street. As they exited Percy’s car, someone called out to them.

“Percy! Long time no see!” the stranger yelled.

Molly turned to see an interesting figure rushing towards them. She was small in stature, not much taller than Molly herself with, with pale skin and short brown hair. She was also wearing the Sweet Jazz City police’s uniform but what was interesting was that she was wearing a long, tan trench coat over it. A trench coat that seemed to have multiple extra pockets sewn into in. And stuffed, rather haphazardly, into each of these pockets were small pieces of paper. On top of her head she wore a tan fedora which had, squeezed into the band of the hat, an assortment of pens, pencils and even a few pieces of chalk on it. And a few more pieces of paper.

“Ah Detective Turner. It’s good to see you again. Molly, this is Detective Turner. Detective Turner, this is Molly. She is the one who called us about this situation,” Percy said.

“Oh, no need to be so formal Percy. We’re friends right?” Turner said before she turned to Molly and extended her hand, “Please, you can just call me Paige.”

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Paige,” Molly said as she reached out to shake Paige’s hand.

“Miss? Oh no, Percy has already been a bad influence on you,” Paige said as she laughed.

“A bad influence..? What do you mean… oh never mind. What brings you here… Paige?” Percy said.

“Hm? Oh, they called me out in case this turned out to be related to my current case,” Paige said.

“Your current case? You mean they haven’t found Sylvester yet?” Percy said as she rested her hand across her chin.

“Sylvester? Is that his name? I just got here, they haven’t given me many details yet. But no, they got the building manager to let them into the apartment and he’s not there. They’re sweeping the block now,” Paige said as she tilted her hat to the side to scratch her head.

“Um…if you don’t mind me asking… what’s your current case?” Molly asked.

As Paige was about to answer they heard a yell from up the street.

“It sounds like they found something! Let’s go!” Paige yelled as she bolted up the street with a speed Molly hadn’t thought possible from her.

As she ran, several of the pieces of paper from her pockets came loose and floated towards the ground. Molly stopped to grab them and noticed they all had writing on them. One said ‘pack of wolves’ and the other simply said ‘Philips screwdriver’. Oh, Molly realized, these pieces of paper must have something to do with her epithet. But what weird epithet could require this many pieces of paper? Molly shoved the pieces of paper into her coat before following after Paige and Percy.


	3. A Clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly reunites with some old acquaintances and they find their first clue to Sylvies whereabouts.

Molly began to panic as she lost sight of Paige and Percy around the corner and she rushed after them as fast as her legs could carry her. But as she rounded the corner, she ran face first into a wall. Wait, no. Not a wall. A person big enough to be a wall.

“Little bodyguard? Is that you?” Indus asked.

“Mister Indus?” Molly said as she rubbed her nose, “What are you doing here? I thought you were still in jail.”

“We are here to do community service!” Indus proclaimed, his hands on his hips and a broad grin across his face.

“We?” Molly asked.

Molly peeked around Indus and saw Mera standing there with an expression that was somewhere between shock and annoyance. Then Molly noticed that both of them were wearing orange jumpsuits, although Indus seemed to have somehow removed the top half of his.

“Community service?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, prisoners with good behavior are allowed out to do community service while under police supervision,” Mera explained as she folded her arms and turned slightly away from Molly, “It looks good when you apply for a shorter sentence. We were cleaning the park when our officer got called here. I guess there was no time to drop us off.”

“So, you’ve been here awhile? Have they found Sylvie?!” Molly asked as she stepped out from behind Indus.

“What? No. Or they haven’t told us anything, they just told us not to cause trouble,” Mera said as she took a step back.

“Oh,” Molly murmured.

Just then, a shout from further down the block caught their attention.

“I think they found something! I gotta go, it was nice seeing you again, kind of,” Molly said.

With that, Molly gave a little bow and then raced off down the street.

“Hey Indus, that name she said…what was it…Sylvie? Does that sound familiar to you?” Mera asked.

“Hmmm, no it does not. Sorry Lady Mera,” Indus said.

“Of course you wouldn’t remember,” Mera sighed, “Let me think…I think that was the name of that brat from the museum. The one with the yo-yo…hey Indus…”

“Yes, Lady Mera?” Indus said.

“How many brownie points do you think we would earn if we helped solve a crime?” Mera said, a plan already forming in her mind.

Molly paused to catch her breath as she finally caught up to Percy. Police were already swarming the scene and a few were roping off the area with yellow and black tape. Molly felt waves of worry wash through her body and her legs started to wobble. Quietly, she tugged on Percy’s shirt.

“Ah, there you are Molly. I was starting to think I lost you,” Percy said.

“Percy…why are they putting up crime scene tape? Sylvie isn’t…” Molly whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Ah…wait…no…don’t cry, it’s alright…or at least…we haven’t found him yet,” Percy stammered.

“You haven’t?” Molly sniffled.

“No, but there are signs of a struggle, we just didn’t want anyone contaminating the scene,” Percy explained.

Molly looked past the police officers to examine the scene. Across one wall was a small smear of red, she could guess what that was, and several smaller droplets of red across the sidewalk. She also spotted what she guessed was the remains of Sylvie’s cell phone next to an officer that was taking a picture of it with a large camera. It was odd though, there was no rubble or larger signs of a battle. Had Sylvie not summoned Dr. Beefton? A triumphant cry interrupted her train of thought. Paige made her way over to them holding something with a pair of tweezers.

“Looks like this is one of mine, take a look Percy,” Paige said.

Paige held the object up to Percy. It appeared to be a strip of cloth bandage, although it was fairly dirty and most likely already used.

“Paige, you know this proves nothing,” Percy said as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

“What are you talking about?” Molly asked.

“I’m talking about all of the disappearances I’ve been investigating,” Paige said.

“All of them? How many have there been?! Why haven’t they been in the news?!” Molly cried.

“Molly, please calm down. We have no proof that the others are disappearances, we don’t want anyone to panic before we know what’s going on,” Percy explained.

“No proof that anyone will admit to,” Paige grumbled.

“Finding pieces of dirty bandages around the city isn’t proof, there’s probably trash like that in every dumpster in the city,” Percy said sternly.

“I’m not just finding it ‘around’ I’ve been finding them at every last know location of the victims!” Paige protested.

“I’m not arguing this with you,” Percy said, “But I am willing to admit I need your help.”

“Oh? How so?” Paige asked.

“In this case it looks like there is a good chance our victim is injured so it’s imperative we find him quickly. I know your epithet can do that,” Percy said.

“Are you sure you want to go that route? We’ve worked together before Percy, you know my epithet won’t stop until we reach a conclusion,” Paige said.

“Getting to him quickly is all that matters,” Percy said.

“Excuse me,” Mera said, “I couldn’t help but overhear, and it sounds like you might be going after something dangerous.”

“And, you are?” Percy said as she turned to face Mera and Indus.

“I’m Mera,” Mera said.

“And I’m Indus! My epithet is barrier!” Indus proclaimed, his hands on his hips.

“Interesting…aren’t you the two I arrested for breaking into the museum?” Percy mused.

“Yes, and we are veery sorry for that. In fact, we are part of the prison community service program,” Mera said, “and as long as we have a police escort, we can help the community in any way they deem necessary. And if you’re going somewhere dangerous, maybe two epithet users could be of help?”

“I suppose you could be of help,” Percy said.

“Great! More characters always make’s things more interesting! Let’s get started,” Paige said eagerly.

“Wait, I have to drop off Molly. We don’t want to get her any more involved,” Percy said.

“Huh?” Paige said.

They all looked over to Paige to see that she had attached a piece of paper to the piece of bandage. Written on the paper was the word ‘plot.’ A silvery grey aura flowed around the paper and the piece of bandage began to float in the air before it shot off down the street.

“Too late, she’s part of this now. You, big guy, you carry Molly. We’ve got to move!” Paige said before, once again, shooting off down the street.


	4. The Basement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew reaches their first destination to hunt for clues.

Well, Molly thought, at least this wasn’t the most uncomfortable ride she had ever been on. At Paige’s command to carry her Indus had scooped her up and had run off after Paige with Molly thrown over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He had actually tried to do the same to Mera as well but she had darted out of his reach before he could. Next time she would ask Indus if she could ride piggyback style so she could actually see where they were going.

They wove through crowds of people, most of them parting before them. She could only assume that either Percy or Paige were using their badges to clear people out of the way. Then Molly noticed a change in the surrounding crowd. Before the people had been dressed in shorts and t-shirts and the biggest bags she had seen were grocery bags. Now everyone seemed to be dressed in sweats, carrying large backpacks and there seemed to be tents set up every few feet.

“Hey Mr. Indus? Where are we?” Molly asked.

“We seem to be approaching the Sweet Jazz City Stadium Little Bodyguard,” Indus replied, not even out of breath.

“The stadium? Why is everyone camping out here?” Molly asked.

“Are you serious? You don’t know?” Mera said as she slowed her pace until she was behind Indus and could see Molly’s face, “Have you been living under a rock?”

“Ummm,” Molly replied.

“They’re waiting to buy tickets! The Silver Thrush is going to be putting on a concert here for the first time in ages!” Mera said with an annoyed huff, “Even I know that and I’ve been in prison the past few months.”

“Ohh,” Molly said, “Wait, isn’t he the singer that was banned from preforming here?”

“He was. He had to get some sort of special permission to come back. That’s why everyone is camping out to get tickets, they might not get another chance to see him,” Mera said.

They ran the rest of the way to the stadium in silence, the only sounds coming from the grumpy campers who weren’t too happy with them weaving through their campsites. They finally reached the entrance with the massive structure looming over them but, instead of entering, they turned and headed around the side of the building. Finally they stopped at an odd door that seemed to be built into the ground more so than the side of the side of the building. The grubby bandage had come to rest on the door handle and the piece of paper that had been attached to it was now dissolving into the air.

“Where does this go?” Mera huffed, still out of breath.

“I think this leads to the stadium basement. It’s where they store all of the props for the different performances and where you find those platforms that rise up into the stadium stage,” Paige explained, surprisingly not out of breath, “Shall we go in?”

“Why here?” Molly asked.

“My epithet led us here so there must be something or someone that can help us here,” Paige said.

With that Paige tugged on the doors and, to everyone’s surprise, found that they were not locked. Without even bothering to pause Paige headed down the stairs. Percy gestured for Mera, Molly and Indus to go ahead of her.

“Mr. Indus, you can put me down now,” Molly said.

“Ah, of course. My apologies,” Indus said as he set Molly down on the sidewalk.

“It’s okay,” Molly replied.

Molly shifted her backpack into a slightly more comfortable position on her back and then headed down the stairs. The lighting in the basement was dim but Molly could still see well enough. The basement was separated into different areas by sections of chain link fences, each with a different label on them. Some seemed to be grouped together by similar objects like ‘confetti cannons’ while others seemed to be for specific shows like ‘Sharon Treble and Beatdrops.’ Molly took a second to wonder why those objects were still in the basement when she was pretty sure that band hadn’t played the stadium in years but then she spotted Paige’s silhouette up ahead. Molly picked up the pace only to give a loud squeak of surprise when she realized it wasn’t Paige.

What Molly had mistaken for Paige was actually a grey stone statue of a young women of similar height and with a similar choppy, short haircut. Molly felt a sense of unease wash over her as the longer she looked at the statue the more detail she noticed like the folds in her coat and each individual hair that was swept across her brow.

“Molly are you okay? I thought I heard you,” Paige said as she popped out from around the corner.

“It’s okay, this statue took me by surprise. I actually thought it was you for a minute,” Molly said with a shaky laugh. 

“Oh, really?” Paige said.

Paige walked over to the statue and sized it up for a moment. Then she fell in beside it and took the same pose as the statue with both hands covering her mouth and her whole body leaning backwards as if she had spotted something shocking. Molly giggled slightly at the sight.

“Well that’s weird,” Mera said coming up behind Molly, “What’s a statue like this doing down here? It looks like it belongs in a museum.”

“Who can say? Theatre people use some weird stuff as props sometimes,” Paige said as she dropped the pose.

“Either way we should report it before we leave,” Percy said as she and Indus arrived, “having it in the middle of the floor like this and not in the proper storage area is a hazard.”

“Right, anyways we should spread out and look around. This basement is huge but there has to be something here for us to find,” Paige said.

“Of course, Molly and Indus you’re with me. We’ll take the right wing. Paige and Mera take the left,” Percy ordered.

As they made their way down the hall Molly felt a cold shudder pass down her back. Even as they left if behind she could swear she could feel the gaze of the statue following her every movement.


	5. Another Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly and Percy make a new acquaintance in the basement.

Molly and Percy made their way through the different sections of the basement Molly wondered at the sheer diversity of the props stored here. Everything from what looked to be shark costumes to nurse’s scrubs. But question remained in her mind. 

“Percy, what exactly are we looking for?” Molly asked.

“It’s hard to say exactly. Paige’s epithet…well while I can guarantee that there is something down here for us to find and we will find it, we might not even know it when we see it. But we will figure it out later,” Percy said.

“What is Paige’s epithet anyway?” Molly asked.

“Her epithet is ‘narrate,’” Percy said.

“Narrate? How does that work?” Molly mused.

“Well, there’s several things it can do but what she main uses it for is to start a narrative. She sets a goal and her epithet guides her until she reaches her conclusion. Other then that I don’t know the details…I’m not even sure Paige knows all of the details,” Percy explained.

“So, it’s like we’ve entered a story book?” Molly asked.

“I suppose,” Percy replied.

“…Does she get to choose the ending?” Molly asked quietly.

“She claims she doesn’t, that all she can do is make sure we reach the ending and we reach it quickly. But, in the few times I’ve worked with her, I have yet to see a case that ended poorly. Although they were always… interesting,” Percy continued.

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Molly sighed.

“I suppose it is…wait a moment,” Percy said.

Percy held her arm out, stopping Molly in her tracks and held her finger to her lips. In the silence Molly could here, the faint strumming of guitar strings. Quietly, Molly and Percy stepped forward and peeked around the corner. In an empty space between the cages there stood a young man. He wore black shoes, skinny grey jeans and a loose fitting long sleeved white shirt. He had a lean and rather angular face and soft grey eyes. His hair was also a charcoal grey except for a stripe of white on the side. Molly could only see him from the side at the moment but she assumed there was matching stripe of white on the other side as well. Around his shoulder was a lovely acoustic guitar made of blonde wood.

“Phil Harmony, I’m surprised to find you in place like this,” Percy said as she stepped out from around the corner.

“Percival King, it’s been a long time,” Phil said with a wry smile, “I’m more surprised to see you down here as I have rented this stadium for my performance. Come to make sure I signed my agreement?”

“You rented this stadium? Then you’re…” Molly said, stepping out from around the corner.

“Phil Harmony, also known as the Silver Thrush,” Phil said as he gave a little bow.

“You’re the star everyone is lining up outside to see!” Molly exclaimed.

“Ah, well,” Phil said as he scratched the back of his head, a blush spreading across his cheeks, “Yes that’s me. So, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Hmm..I suppose you might be able to help us. I’m working a missing persons case right now, have you seen anyone else down here?” Percy said.

“I can’t say that I have but I tend to tune things out when I start to warm up. That’s why I came down here to practice, no one to get annoyed with me not listening to them,” Phil said.

“Ah, well that’s a shame. In the meantime, please return to the upper levels while we conduct our investigation down here and make sure to give the station a call if you recall anything. They’ll get in touch with me,” Percy said.

“Of course, off…” Phil started.

“PERCY!!” Paige interrupted as she rounded the corner, “Oh, hi Phil,” she panted as she slid to a stop.

“Paige, nice to see you again,” Phil said.

“You too,” Paige said.

“Paige, is everything all right?” Percy asked.

“Oh yes, I believe we found something and it’s now chasing us. Care to help?” Paige said.

“Wait, what?” Percy said.

With that a scream pierced through the air followed by a sound that would haunt Molly’s dreams for years to come. Something that only be described as a mix between a guttural groan and a moaning scream.

“What was that?” Percy asked.

“I have no idea,” Paige said.


	6. The Bandaged Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Paige face down an opponent in the basement.

“Molly, get behind me. You too Phil,” Percy ordered.

Molly shrank down behind Percy as she heard the sound of someone approaching at a breakneck pace. Finally, Mera and Indus burst around the corner.

“How… how did you take off so fast?” Mera gasped.

“Never mind that, is it still behind you?” Paige asked.

Another groan echoed through the basement sending shivers down everyone’s spines.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Paige said.

“Indus was it? What did you say your epithet was again?” Percy asked.

“Barrier!” Indus proclaimed as he straightened.

“Good, you protect Molly and Phil. Paige, you’re upfront with me. Mera, is your epithet any good in combat?” Percy asked.

“Uhm… technically. Wait did you say Phil?” Mera said.

“If you aren’t confident then stay close to Indus,” Percy said as she stepped forward in front of Indus.

“That’s not what I meant,” Mera protested.

Any further argument was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. But there was something wrong with these footsteps, Molly thought. There was an odd dragging quality to them, as if the owner couldn’t quite raise their feet properly.

Finally, the owner came into view. They looked like a human, Molly thought, but she couldn’t be sure due to the sheer number of bandages covering their frame. Their head was almost entirely obscured by bandages except for a few tufts of black hair and their right eye that was emitting an eerie yellow glow. Their torso was covered by a shabby red hoodie and their hands were covered with white cloth bandages except for the very tips of their fingers. Over their legs were shabby blue jeans that were stained black around the cuffs. On their feet were tennis shoes whose soles were in the process of pulling free from the rest of the shoe each time they raised their feet.

As the bandaged man approached everyone flinched backwards as they were suddenly hit by the smell of something rotting. The man then stopped as if suddenly noticing they were there. He stared for a moment before letting out a low, rumbling noise akin to a growl.

“So, my dirty bandages were just junk eh?” Paige said nervously.

“Not the time Paige,” Percy replied, “You there! State your name and your business here!”

The bandaged man then let out a howl and raised his arms. The bandages around his arms then unwound themselves and shot through the air towards them. Percy raised both of her arms and two wizard towers raised themselves on either side of her. A static charge built between them and the bandages were stopped in their tracks. The bandaged man gave a howl of frustration and Molly could see a new set of bandages forming on his arms. But before they were covered again, Molly swore that the skin underneath appeared to be shrunken and leathery.

“Paige! Cover me!” Percy commanded as she drew her sword and rushed forward.

“Introducing! A pack of wolves!” Paige yelled as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and slapped it on the ground.

The ink rose from the paper and condensed in the air above it. But instead of forming a pack of wolves, what appeared as a gallon of milk, a carton of eggs and a bag of coffee beans.

“Oh. Shoot. That was my grocery list. Okay, fine. Egg attack!” Paige said.

As Percy rushed forward, Paige opened the carton of eggs and began pelting the bandaged man with the eggs. The bandaged man raised his arms in growled in confusion before Percy swung her sword and hit the him in stomach with the flat of the blade. The bandaged man gave a grunt of pain and stumbled backwards, crossing his arms over his stomach. Still doubled over, the bandaged man raised one of his arms and one of the bandages snaked through the air and wrapped itself around Percy’s arm. Then, without warning, Percy collapsed onto the ground.

“Percy!” Molly screamed.

“Ms. Police Lady!” Indus cried, “Barrier!”

An orange barrier appeared between Percy and the bandaged man and the bandaged man gave another growl of frustration. Then, with a speed Molly wouldn’t have thought possible, he shuffled away into the darkness.

“Indus, I can take care of Percy! After him!” Paige ordered.

“Yes, ma’am!” Indus exclaimed as he rushed off after the bandaged man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter. Life is a bit hectic right now.


	7. A New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang needs a new way to track the bandaged man.

“Paige? What happened? Is Percy okay?” Molly asked.

With a great heave Paige rolled Percy onto her back. Percy’s face was pale and her breathes were short and fast.

“It looks like that mummy man somehow drained all her stamina in one go. She’ll be okay, I just need to fine my stamina restorer,” Paige said as she started shuffling through her papers.

“Do you think that was the same person that attacked Sylvie?” Molly asked.

“Most likely,” Paige replied, “That would explain why my plot hook led us here.”

“That attack of his, that would explain why he didn’t summon Dr. Beefton,” Molly said.

“Dr. Beefton?” Paige asked as she looked up from her papers.

“Can you hurry it up? He could come back at any moment,” Mera hissed.

“Right,” Paige replied.

After a few more tense moments of shuffling Paige gave a cry of triumph as she held a pink post it note over her head. She slapped it on the ground and the ink rose and condensed into a vial that was full of a dark red liquid. Paige lifted Percy’s head and poured the liquid into her mouth. A moment later Percy let out a cough, then a groan, and then opened her eyes.

“What happened?” Percy asked.

“The perp had a stamina draining attack. He took you out in one hit. Luckily it wasn’t anything my health potion couldn’t handle,” Paige explained.

“Where is he now?” Percy said as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

“He made a run for it. Indus is chasing after him though,” Paige said.

“He still hasn’t come back though,” Mera mumbled.

“I don’t think you should worry miss, he looked like he could handle himself in a fight,” Phil said.

“Thanks, but it’s not the fighting part I’m worried about,” Mera said.

The five of them turn and tensed as the heard the pounding of footsteps and heavy breathing approaching them. But then they all relaxed as Indus rounded the corner.

“Citizen, report. What happened to the criminal?” Percy barked.

“I’m sorry Ms. Police Lady! I was chasing after him when he turned a corner! But when I turned the corner he was gone! And then I got lost coming back! But then I heard your voices and I found you! So, everything is okay!” Indus exclaimed.

“You idiot! Everything is not okay! That lunatic is still on the loose!” Mera scolded.

“Oh, right,” Indus replied.

“Now there’s no need of name calling,” Percy said as she rose to her feet, “Paige, do you think you can use your plot hook again? Get us pointed in the right direction?”

“Maybe, though it works best if I have some sort of clue to attach it to,” Paige said as she pulled out a blank piece of paper and started writing on it.

“Mr. Harmony, I apologize for the danger we put you in. I assure you this will not happen again,” Percy said.

“Oh, that’s quite all right. I mean, you can’t help things that happen by chance,” Phil replied.

“I wouldn’t say it was chance,” Paige said.

They all turned to look at Paige. In her hands was a large compass whose red needle was pointed directly at Phil.

“Phil…how good is your epithet at finding people?” Paige asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a bit short. It's only Wednesday but it's already been a week.


	8. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang learns a little more about Phil's epithet

“Um, I mean, it can do that. If I got close enough to the person I want to find,” Phil said hesitantly.

“Then can you try? To find the bandaged man I mean,” Paige said.

“Hey, look, I’m thankful that you guys protected me and all but I’m not a cop. And I haven’t trained with my epithet beyond the basics. I really don’t think I’m qualified for this,” Phil replied.

“If you do help us I may be able to convince the department to be a bit more lenient with you if you happen to have another… accident during your concerts,” Percy said.

“…you’d do that for me?” Phil asked.

“I always repay a debt,” Percy stated.

“I guess it’s worth a try then,” Phil sighed.

Phil unslung the guitar from his shoulders and leaned it up against one of the storage cages. Then he took a deep breath as a silvery grey aura swirled around him. Then several lines appeared in the air around him. Then lines were straight at first but then they started spasm and crinkle every few seconds to a steady thumping beat.

“Are those…sound waves?” Mera asked.

“Yeah, his own personal oscilloscopes,” Paige said quietly.

“His what?” Mera asked.

“Oscilloscopes. They’re the tool used to monitor sound waves,” Paige explained.

“Ah. So, wait, what sounds is he monitoring exactly?” Mera asked.

“So this one is Molly,” Phil said as he moved one of the oscilloscopes closer to her, “This one is Percy, Indus, Mera, and here’s Paige so that leaves this one.”

Phil held the last oscilloscope in front of him and they all stared for a moment at the steady, almost familiar rhythm it was tracking.

“Is that… the bandaged man’s heartbeat?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, it is,” Phil said, “I can trace any sound I’ve heard before so long as I heard it for over a minute.”

“Wait, you can hear our heartbeats?” Mera asked.

“Yeah…My epithet gives me a crazy good sense of hearing,” Phil replied as a slight flush appeared on his cheeks.

“Doesn’t that give you a headache?” Molly asked.

“Sometimes. I have to wear ear plugs almost constantly,” Phil said as he gestured to his ear where Molly could now see a bright orange earplug set snuggly in his ear canal.

“So, you never get a moment of quiet then?” Mera asked.

“No, not really,” Phil laughed.

“So how does this tracker work?” Percy asked.

“Oh, uh, the closer we get to the source of the noise brighter my oscilloscope will glow,” Phil explained.

“Kinda like a game of hot and cold,” Paige said.

“I guess?” Phil replied.

“Which will be really hard to do from a car,” Percy sighed, “Alright everyone, I guess we’re going on foot from here.”   
  



	9. A Discussion of Epithets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly asks Mera about Phil's epithet

A few minutes later the group emerged from the basement with Phil in the lead, a dark cap and a coat shoved over his signature clothes and hairstyle. They first looped around the stadium to avoid the growing crowd of Phil’s fans and then started following the oscilloscope’s glow.

Molly tried her best to keep up but her short legs and overstuffed backpack started to slow her down. Hearing her heavy breathing Indus slowed, and then scooped Molly up and placed her on his shoulder.

“Thanks,” Molly panted.

“No problem Little Bodyguard,” Indus said.

They continued in relative silence for a while, only stopping when Phil stopped to swing the oscilloscope back and forth to make sure they were still on the right track. Eventually, Molly got up the courage to ask Mera a question that was weighing on her mind.

“Hey Mera? Why was Phil banned from singing in the city? Is his epithet super dangerous or something? It seems pretty harmless right now,” Molly asked.

“Uh, well I don’t know all the details or anything. Actually, I don’t even know what his epithet is,” Mera said.

“Really?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, he’s never really advertised it like some people we know,” Mera explained, “but what I heard was that his epithet went out of control during his last concert in the stadium and he accidently took out the power grid.”

“What?!” Molly squeaked before noticing Percy looking at her and lowering her voice, “the whole power grid?”

“Well I don’t know for sure. I didn’t live in Sweet Jazz City when it happened and the articles I read were really vague,” Mera said.

“Still…that’s a crazy powerful epithet if it’s true,” Molly mused.

“Well, that’s the thing about epithets right? What is really powerful in one situation can be weak in another,” Mera said.

“I guess,” Molly replied.

“Besides,” Mera added, “considering what happened when we tried to face that weird mummy man last time I wouldn’t mind having a crazy powerful epithet on our side.”

“Right, the more help the better,” Molly concluded.

Molly took a minute to take in her surroundings. They had entered a more residential area with cute little houses with little fenced in yards all lined up in a row. She spotted movement up ahead. A rather familiar pinkish red mop of hair wearing an unfamiliar brown jacket was dragging something towards a pair of garbage cans.

“Giovanni!” Molly cried in excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally get to stir Giovanni into the mix!
> 
> Get it?
> 
> Stir?
> 
> Cause...soup


	10. A Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly questions Giovanni

Giovanni looked up from his task and immediately brightened as he saw Molly jogging towards him.

“Hey Beartrap! You getting into trouble again?” Girovanni asked.

“Ahahaha I guess you could say that,” Molly said, “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, just dragging this creepy statue out to the trash for my moms,” Giovanni said as he gestured towards the load he had been moving.

“Creepy statue?” Molly asked.

Molly took a closer look and saw that Giovanni had been moving what appeared to be the statue of a young man. The young man had slim build and fine features. The details of the statue where incredibly fine, Molly could practically see the threads of his clothes. Molly suspected that the statue might have been described as handsome if it weren’t for the expression horror and pain that twisted his features.

“Yeah,” Giovanni said, “We just found it on our lawn this morning. Must be some kind of weird prank. Anyways, it was freaking them out so they asked me to drag it out to the trash bins.”

“It’s really nicely carved. That seems like a lot of work for a prank. Is it really made of stone?” Molly asked.

“I think so. It certainly weighs enough. My back is killing me,” Giovanni said with a groan.

“What’s going on over here?” Percy asked as she jogged over to them, “Molly you shouldn’t run off like that in the middle of an investigation.”

“OH…HI…Ms….Police Lady,” Giovanni stammered.

“Oh, sorry Percy. I just got excited when I saw my friend…Gio over here,” Molly explained.

“Gio huh,” Percy said, “You seem familiar. Have we met before?”

“Me? Uh, no, I don’t think so. But…ah…maybe you’ve seen me around with my friends? We do wander around town a lot,” Giovanni said.

“Hmmm…yes I suppose that must be it. I’m sure a friend of Molly’s couldn’t be a troublemaker,” Percy replied.

“Right,” Giovanni said as he let out a sigh of relief before turning to Molly and whispering, “Why did you bring a cop here?!”

“I didn’t know you lived here!” Molly whispered back.

“Why are you with her anyways?” Giovanni whispered.

“She’s helping me look for Sylvie?” Molly whispered.

“Sylvie? Yoyo is missing?” Giovanni said.

“Ah, are you aquiated with the young Sylvester as well?” Percy asked.

“…we’ve met,” Giovanni said.

“Have you seen him in the last 24 hours?” Percy inquired.

“No, ‘fraid not,” Giovanni said.

“That is unfortunate,” Percy said.

“Hey Percy! What’s the hold up?” Paige asked as she jogged over.

“Ah, I was just inquiring as to whether or not Molly’s friend here has seen our missing person,” Percy said.

“Hey Paige?” Molly asked.

“Yeah?” Paige responded.

“Uh…this statue here. Gio said he found it on his lawn this morning but, does it remind you of the one we saw in the basement of the stadium?” Molly asked.

Paige paused for a moment and then walked up to the statue. After giving it a once over she scratched her head and turned back to Molly.

“Huh. That’s weird. They look like they could be made by the same person at the least. But what’s it doing here?” Paige asked.


	11. Art Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy calls an expert to examine the statue

“Paige, are you thinking that these statues are related to our current case?” Percy asked.

“Well, in my experience a reoccurring element isn’t something we should ignore. Especially while my epithet is active,” Paige explained.

“Hmmm,” Percy hummed, “Let me phone my expert. He might be able to tell us a little more about the statue.”

Percy took out her phone and, turning her back to the group, started dialing a number. While waiting for Percy, Phil, Mera and Indus jogged up to the group while Paige wandered over to Percy and stood on her tip toes to try and peek at her phone.

“Jeez, what’s taking you all so long over here?” Mera griped, “Hey wait a minute, aren’t you…?”

“Molly’s friend!” Gio yelled.

“Right…” Mera said.

“Do you…all know each other?” Phil asked.

“You could say that,” Mera said, “Hey, Phil? Shouldn’t you keep working on getting a fix with your oscilloscope?”

“Oh right,” Phil said as he wandered off a few feet away.

“Well,” Mera whispered, “You sure seem to be doing well for yourself after our little encounter.”

“Doing well? Wait you mean the house?” Gio said.

“Uh yeah. I mean the last place I expected you to be living is the suburbs,” Mera hissed.

“Lady, this is my mom’s house,” Gio said, “None of this is mine. Uh… you’re not going to tell your new lady cop friend who I am, are you?”

“Oh please,” Mera said, “I have bigger fish to fry then a lowly Banzai Blaster. Although if this doesn’t pan out I might turn you in instead.”

“Oh…uh… maybe I’ll help you out with these bigger fish then,” Gio nervously laughed, “besides, I owe Yoyo a favor as well.”

“Hey guys!” Paige yelled, “Percy has her expert on the phone!”

The group turned back to Percy who has a man up on a video conference. The man had an odd, square-ish face and a pair of ears that seemed to stick too far out from his head. His brown hair was slicked back from his forehead and he had a small beard on his chin. He had a scar over his right eye, a right eye that seemed to be made entirely of gold.

“Everyone, this is Ramsey Murdoch. He’s a…specialist in the art and antiquities world,” Percy said.

“Hey…people I have completely never met before,” Ramsey said as his eyes briefly lingered on Giovanni.

“Yes, thank you for giving us a moment of your time,” Percy said.

“Well, it’s not like I have a lot going on right now,” Ramsey said, “anyways, where is this statue you wanted me to see?”

Percy swung her phone to face the statue.

“Oof, now that’s an expression,” Ramsey said, “can you bring me in for a closer look?”

Percy brought the phone in close and ran it slowly over the edge of the statue.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Ramsey said.

Percy straightened and everyone crowded around the phone.

“So,” Ramsey said, “Going off of your assurance that this is real stone I have to tell you, this is a masterpiece. It’s hard to be sure without seeing it in person, but I can’t see a single crack or chisel mark on it. I can also tell you its fairly new. There is no sign of age on the stone either. Which makes it especially weird that one would be used as a prop and the other was left in someone’s garden.”

“Can you identify the artist?” Paige asked.

“It’s no one I recognize,” Ramsey said, “Although I specialize in the ancient masters. I’m not too familiar with the up and coming art scene.”

“Well, thank you for your analysis. I’ll be in to see you soon,” Percy said as she hung up the phone.

“Paige? Do these statues really have something to do with Sylvie disappearing?” Molly asked.

“I’m not sure yet, but I have a feeling we’re on the right track,” Paige replied.

“Everyone!” Phil yelled, “I’ve got a signal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I managed to squeeze Ramsey in here.


	12. Down Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang heads into the sewers to continue the search.

Everyone looked to see Phil standing in the middle of the street, holding his oscilloscope towards the ground.

“Wait,” Mera said, “Does that mean the bandage guy is in the sewers?”

“It’s that or someone really screwed up the placement of their basement,” Phil laughed.

“Then we must investigate,” Percy said, “building a basement underneath a city street would be a serious violation of current building codes.”

“What? Oh, no I didn’t mean… he’s definitely in the sewers ma’am. No secret basements, I think,” Phil clarified.

“Oh, I see. Let’s be on our way then. There should an access panel around here somewhere,” Percy said.

“Does she mean a manhole?” Giovanni asked.

“I… think so,” Mera said.

Everyone spread out, scanning the ground for the familiar metal glint of a manhole cover in the street. A few minutes later Indus gave a shout and they turned to see him holding a manhole cover proudly over his head.

“Well done Indus,” Percy said, “I’ll go first. Phil, you follow after me.”

Molly watched as first Percy’s blonde head of hair disappeared into the darkness below. Then Phil followed her, then Mera, and then Giovanni.

“Come on Beartrap!” Givonni’s voice echoed from below, “I’m right here for you.”

“Go on,” Paige said as she gave Molly a little nudge, “I’ll be right behind you.”

Molly took a deep breath in and steadied herself. Then she lowered herself onto the metal ladder that was attached to the wall of the sewer. Squeezing herself as close to the ladder as possible, so as to make room for her backpack, she slowly lowered herself into the dim light of the sewers. When she reached the bottom rung she swung her foot out but still couldn’t feel the ground. How high up was she? Was she safe to jump down? Then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist.

“I’ve got you Beartrap. You can let go of the ladder,” Giovanni said.

With a sigh of relief Molly let go of the ladder and with a grunt of effort Giovanni lowered her to the floor which was only a few inches from the bottom rung.

“Geez, what have you got in that backpack? A fire extinguisher?” Giovanni asked.

“Uh, yes actually,” Molly said.

“What? Seriously?” Giovanni said.

“Yep. And a first aid kit. And the defibrillator from the shop. And a water bottle,” Molly said.

“And…why are you carrying all of that around?” Giovanni asked.

“Well you can never be too prepared. And, you know, I was worried about…” Molly said as her voice trailed off.

“Oh right,” Giovanni said, “Hey don’t worry about it, okay? You’ve got a crack team here. We’ll find him in no time.”

“Hey guys, Indus is stuck,” Mera said.

Molly and Giovanni turned to see Indus’s legs flailing in the air.

“Curse my gloriously toned muscles!” Indus’s muffled voice said.

“Gio was it?” Percy sighed, “Help me pull.” 

Giovanni moved to grab one of Indus’s legs as Percy grabbed the other and together they started to pull Indus down into the sewer. Molly moved over to Mera who was watching the spectacle with a slightly pained expression on her face.

“Mera, can I ask you something?” Molly asked.

“Hm? Oh, sure kid,” Mera replied.

“When we were fighting the bandaged guy earlier, did you see anything weird when the bandages on his hands came off?” Molly asked.

“Uh, no. I wasn’t really focused on his hands at the time. Why?” Mera asked.

“Oh, it’s just, his skin didn’t look quite right. So I was wondering if…maybe…” Molly said.

“Just spit it out already,” Mera snapped.

“I was wondering if his epithet is hurting him!” Molly blurted out, “I was wondering if, maybe, he’s like you.”


	13. The Sewers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group travels through the Sweet Jazz City sewers.

Mera paused and then turned her gaze to Giovanni and Percy who were still trying to free Indus from his current predicament. It was likely only a minute or so before she answered but to Molly, it felt like an eternity.

“I mean, it’s a possibility,” Mera sighed, “I’m living proof that an epithet can be just as harmful as it is helpful to its owner.”

“Then what do we do?” Molly asked, “What if he’s just doing all this because he’s in pain?”

“Ha!” Mera laughed, “I’m sorry but did you forget everything you said to me at the museum? Life isn’t fair. Even if he is in pain that’s no excuse to harm others. We’ll do what we were planning to do this entire time, bring him to justice. We can worry about whether or not we can help him later.”

Molly was quiet for a moment before she looked up at Mera with a grin on her face.

“What are you smiling about?” Mera asked.

“I’m just glad you remembered what I said. You really were listening,” Molly said.

“Y-Yeah, well,” Mera said as she turned her face away from Molly, “You were pretty dramatic about it all. It’s kinda hard to forget.”

Further discussion was interrupted by a dull thud as Percy and Giovanni’s efforts finally freed Indus from his predicament.

“If everyone is ready I know what direction we need to go,” Phil said.

With Phil in the lead the group started their trek through the sewers. Luckily there was a nice walkway on the edge so there was no need to walk in the water. And, while the air certainly wasn’t fresh, the smell wasn’t overpowering.

“Is this really the sewers?” Giovanni asked.

“Sure it is,” Paige said, “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I guess I was expecting some slime, or maybe a few rats,” Giovanni replied.

“This isn’t the movies!” Paige exclaimed, “I’ll have you know that Sweet Jazz City does regular maintenance on the sewer system.”

“Oh, that’s a relief I suppose,” Giovanni said.

“There are rats down here though,” Paige said.

“Wait, what!?” Mera squeaked.

“Don’t worry,” Paige explained, “they’re pretty shy and don’t usually bother people.”

“I think we’re here,” Phil announced.

Everyone gathered around who was standing next to an old metal door that was set into the wall. Unlike the rather neat sewer, this door was covered in a dull, brown rust.

“It looks like our man is above us,” Phil said as his oscilloscope glowed brightly over his hand, “and this is the only way up I can see.”

Percy grabbed the door handle and gave it rattle.

“It looks like it’s locked. And finding a key will take some time,” Percy mused, her hand on her chin.

“I’ve got this one,” Mera said.

Mera walked over to the door and placed her hand over the lock. The dull gray glow of her epithet surrounded the lock and sank into the keyhole.

“Indus can you give it a kick for me?” Mera asked.

“Of course Lady Mera,” Indus replied.

Indus swung his leg in a mighty curve and as it connected with the door the now fragile lock shattered in tiny pieces and the door swung open with a creak.

“Impressive,” Percy remarked, “Let’s get a move on.”

As everyone entered the room they noticed it was old storage closet of some sort. The floor was cover in a heavy layer of dust except for a fresh trail of sneaker prints that lead to a metal stair case that ascended to an open trap door. One by one they ascended the stairs and entered into a large building. There were several workbenches with various chisels and carving tools on them. Jammed haphazardly into the building were a dizzying amount of stone slabs that blocked their view at every turn.

“I don’t like this,” Paige said, “He could be hiding anywhere. Are you sure he’s here?”

“Positive,” Phil said as he looked at the brightly glowing oscilloscope one last time before closing his fist and making it disappear.

“Stay close everyone,” Percy said, “this is no time to get separated. We don’t know what tricks he may have in store.”

“Oh my,” a voice said, “I wasn’t expecting any guests. What a delightful surprise.”


	14. Unveiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly and Giovanni search the art studio.

Molly turned and gave a loud screech. Standing in the shadows was a tall and lanky figure that resembled the statue of a man. But when Molly screamed the statue took a step backwards stirring up clouds of grey dust as they moved.

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the figure said. 

“It’s quite alright,” Percy said, “I’m afraid you’ve just startled us. Are you the owner of this property?”

“Just renting I’m afraid,” the figure said.

“Well, we’re very sorry to intrude,” Percy said.

“Are you a statue?!” Paige blurted out.

“A what…?” the figure said, “Oh you’re talking about all this.”

The figure stepped out into the light and began patting down his clothes and skin. Clouds of grey dust rose around him and once he was finished there stood before them and a tall young man with fair skin and long black hair held back with a mess of bobby pins. He wore a long grey apron and patches of grey dust still clung to his clothes and skin.

“Sorry, the carving kicks up a lot of dust, you know?” the man said.

“You’re an artist then?” Mera asked.

“Yes, I carve only the finest statues,” the man said, “You may call Amous Stone.”

“Carving statues all on your lonesome in warehouse? That’s kind of creepy,” Giovanni said.

“Says one of the people that entered my workshop through the basement,” Amous replied.

“Yes, our apologies for our unorthodox entrance. We are seeking a missing person as well a criminal we believe has a connection to the disappearance and we traced them here. If it’s not too much trouble, may we take a moment to search your workshop?” Percy asked.

“A missing person you say? Well don’t let me stand in your way. Search as you please,” Amous replied.

“Thank you,” Percy said.

Giovanni and Molly wandered through the rows of stone slabs. Most of them were in some stage of being carved with heads and random limbs emerging from the uncarved stone. Perhaps it was Molly’s imagination but it felt like the statues were closing in around her.

“Man, you really have to be a special sort of weird to lock yourself up in a place like this to make stuff like…this,” Giovanni said as he gestured to one of the statues.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Molly said, a tight smile on her face, “They’re very unique.”

“You’re allowed to say they’re creepy you know,” Giovanni said.

“I guess,” Molly said.

“Come on Bear Trap,” Giovanni said, “What happened to all that confidence you gained?”

“Its just art is so confusing! I never know what to say about it!” Molly protested.

“That’s just the point! Because it’s confusing you can say whatever you want and no one can say you’re wrong! Here let’s practice,” Giovanni explained.

Giovanni looked around and spotted one statue that had been covered by a large tarp and moved over to it.

“Here, I’ll pull off this tarp and you just say the first thing that comes to mind,” Giovanni said.

“Are you sure that’s okay? I’m sure it’s covered for a reason,” Molly asked.

“It’s fine. I’ll just put it back afterwards. Now let’s do this,” Giovanni said.

With a dramatic flourish, Giovanni yanked the tarp off of the statue. It was silent for moment before Molly responded.

“Sylvie?” Molly whispered.

“Well that’s a weird reaction,” Giovanni said, “Wait, did you say Sylvie?”

Giovanni turned and took a look at the statue. It really was the perfect image of Sylvester, complete with the fur lined jacket, perfectly round spectacles and oddly fluffy hair. Giovanni slowly walked back to Molly’s side.

“Hey Bear Trap…please tell me Yoyo moonlighted as an art model as well as a psychiatrist,” Giovanni said.

“I don’t think so,” Molly said.

“Maybe…creepy carving dude just got a good picture of him?” Giovanni suggested.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Molly said, “Giovanni you don’t think that this statue…and the other statues…I mean it couldn’t be…”

“Oh dear, I didn’t expect my newest masterpiece to be unveiled so soon,” Amous said from behind Giovanni and Molly, “You know, I don’t take kindly to invasions of my privacy.”


	15. Monologues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly questions Amous

“Molly!” Giovanni yelled as he grabbed the hood of her jacket, “Fog of Lost Souls!”

A reddish fog billowed out, that smelled slightly of tomatoes and spices, and obscured the surrounding area. Giovanni hauled Molly back and took cover behind one of the incomplete statues.

“Boss,” Molly whimpered, “Do you think Sylvie is going to be okay?”

“Uh, sure. Of course! I mean he’s not as tough as me, but he’s still made of some pretty tough stuff. We just need to get this guy to reverse... whatever it is he did,” Giovanni said.

“But why would be do this to Sylvie?” Molly asked.

“I think I’m the wrong person to ask, Beartrap,” Giovanni said.

“Oh right,” Molly said, “Mr. Stone, sir! Why are you doing this? Did Sylvie do something to you?”

“Beartrap!” Giovanni hissed as he clamped his hand over Molly’s mouth.

“Do something? Oh, heavens no,” Amous said, his voice echoing around the warehouse, “In fact I don’t know anything about this ‘Sylvie’ of yours. Though if you’re talking about my newest masterpiece, I just caught sight of him one day. And that lovely splendid slender form of his, I knew he was perfect for newest exhibition.”

“Exhibition?” Molly asked as she squirmed out of Giovanni’s grasp.

“Yes, it’s going to be a wonderful event. A true match of wits between me and the Sweet Jazz City police force that will put my works on display for the whole world to see,” Amous said.

“You must be very smart to do this all on your own,” Molly said.

“Hmm, yes, well I wish I could take all the credit but have received some help in rounding up my…models,” Amous replied.

“The bandaged man?” Molly asked.

“Bandaged man? Is that what you’ve been calling him? Well I suppose that works. He’s certainly never told me his real name, not since I first found him,” Amous said.

“Found him?” Giovanni asked.

“Yes, in the Sweet Jazz City Museum. Poor man, their archeologists found him out in the desert. Mistook him for a mummy. Though I can’t say I blame them considering the state he was in. But lucky me I could still sense the power running through him. And he’s been such a big help,” Amous monologued, “I’ve wanted to do this exhibition for so long, but my epithet can be so slow moving. My previous models always ended up in such unattractive poses. But it’s been much easier to get the poses I desire once my friend has tired them out.”

“So that’s why Sylvie didn’t use Dr. Beefton,” Molly whispered, “He didn’t have the strength to use him.”

“This is worse than we thought Beartrap,” Giovanni whispered back, “We need to regroup with the others.”

“It’s a bit too late for that,” Amous said as he appeared from behind the statue Molly and Giovanni had taken refuge behind.

Then a chalky white glow surrounded Amous as he activated his epithet. Amous placed his had on the statue behind him, the glow spreading to surround the statue as well. The statue was nearly finished, only its right leg was still uncarved. Then the statue twitched, it made stiff, jerky movements as it slowly came to life.

“You know, the dangerous part about getting the villain to tell you their plans is that they can no longer afford to let you go afterwards,” Amous said.

Molly and Giovanni screamed as the statue jerked towards them, its movements hampered by the uncarved right leg. But, just as the statue reached for them, and orange barrier surrounded them and the statue’s hands bounced off of it.

“Indus!” Molly cried in relief.

“I’ve got you little bodyguard!” Indus yelled as he, Mera, Percy, Paige and Phil rounded the corner.

“You know the good thing about getting the villain to monologue,” Paige said, “Is that the rest of us can hear it. Especially in nice echoey warehouse.”


	16. Setting the Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang battles against Amous and the Bandaged Man

“Seven against one?” Amous pouted, “Well that’s not very fair. I suppose you won’t mind if I call in some backup, would you?”

Amous activated his epithet again and the chalky white glow surrounded three more statues. All three of the statues jerked to life and two of them began stumbling towards Percy’s group while the third headed for Molly and Giovanni. Even with the statues headed for them Percy was momentarily distracted by a garbled scream that came from her left. She turned and saw that the bandaged man had come to join the fray as well.

“I’ve got this!” Indus yelled.

A second, dome shaped orange barrier surrounded Percy’s group and the statues hands scraped against it.

“This is nice Indus, but how are we supposed to fight back like this?” Paige asked.

“I’ve got this!” Giovanni yelled as he pulled his Soul Slugger Doom Bat from behind his back which appeared to be missing something.

“Hey,” Mera yelled, “didn’t that used to have a knife taped to it?”

“Shut up!” Giovanni yelled back, “My mom confiscated it!”

Giovanni ran out from behind the barrier and brought the Soul Slugger Doom Bat down on the hand of one of the statues. The hand snapped off and fell to the floor and Giovanni grinned triumphantly until the hand started to twitch and move towards him. Giovanni screamed and ran back behind the barrier.

“That won’t work darling!” Amous called out, “My lovely statues will keep attacking until they’re ground to dust.”

“Dust,” Mera said, “Indus let me out! I can take care of them!”

“No! You’ll just be opening yourself up to an attack from the bandaged man!” Paige said.

“And we can’t get close either,” Percy said, “Or he’ll just turn us to stone instead.”

“Noo,” Indus cried, “I don’t want to be turned to stone!”

“Don’t worry dear,” Amous said, “Muscles aren’t really my thing.”

“What?” Mera said, “Are you sure? I mean… have you seen them?”

“What?” Amous said.

“Uhh, nothing,” Mera yelled back.

“Back to the matter at hand,” Phil said, “We’re fighting these guys on their home turf. They have the upper hand.”

“Home turf…” Paige muttered to herself, “Ah! I’ve got it! Everyone, hold tight! It’s time to set the scene!”

From one of her pockets Paige pulled out a full page of notebook paper that was covered in writing and slammed it on the ground. The ground rumbled, and large towers erupted from the ground, raising Percy’s group high above the statues. When the rumbling stopped, a full castle wall stood in the middle of the warehouse.

“That’s more like it!” Mera yelled. “Indus, Scattergun!”

The shield surrounding Percy’s group shattered and the pieces embedded themselves in the statues, caused long, deep cracks to spread across them.

“My turn,” Percy said.

Percy placed her hand on the castle wall and multiple wizard towers sprouted along sides. Electricity cracked and struck the statues, the bandaged man, and Amous all at once. The statues exploded into tiny pieces and the bandaged man collapsed to the ground. Amous, however remained on his feet.

“No! This isn’t over yet!” Amous yelled.

“Clear!” Molly yelled.

“What?” Amous said.

Then Molly placed the fully charged defibrillator paddles against Amous’ back and electrocuted him once more. With a slow whine, Amous collapsed to the ground.

“Where did you get a defibrillator?!” Mera yelled.

“It was in my backpack,” Molly explained, “I came prepared.”


	17. The Concert

Slowly, the castle wall lowered itself back into the ground. Breathing heavily, Percy walked over to the Bandaged Man and placed a set of eraser cuffs on his wrists. Then she walked over Amous and shook him until he was partially awake.

“Release everyone you have trapped with your epithet. Now,” Percy ordered.

“As you wish darling,” Amous groaned. 

Everyone turned as they heard a sharp, cracking noise and saw Sylvie, lying on the ground and surrounded by small pieces of stone.

“Sylvie!” Molly cried as she rushed to his side.

As she reached his side Molly immediately knew something was wrong. Carefully, she rolled him onto his back. There was a shallow cut across his shoulder but that wasn’t what caught Molly’s attention. Sylvie was breathing but his breathes were short and shallow and there deep black bags underneath his eyes.

“Gio! Percy! Something’s wrong!” Molly yelled, the panic in her voice rising.

Giovanni, Percy, Paige, and Phil ran over to Molly but paused as they tried to discern what was wrong.

“What is this?” Gio asked, “Did he break something?”

“I don’t think so,” Molly replied, “Amous said he was one of his masterpieces, right? I don’t think he wanted him badly hurt.”

“Then what is the cause of this?” Percy asked.

“I think he’s exhausted,” Phil replied.

“Exhausted?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, that’s what those bags under the eyes usually mean, right? Also, that guy said that the bandaged man was helping him make the people easier for him to work with and earlier he drained a lot of your energy in that fight, right? Phil reasoned.

“That would make sense. Right, we need to restore his energy then,” Percy said, “Paige can you help?”

“Sorry, I’m pretty tapped,” Paige replied.

“I can help,” Gio said, “Fog of Lost Souls!”

A reddish mist spread out from Giovanni once more and the scent of tomato basil soup filled the warehouse.

“I’ll help too,” Phil said.

Phil started humming a tune and his silvery grey energy pulsated out of him. Breathing in the fog and feeling the gentle vibrations travel through her body, Molly felt the exhaustion from trekking across the city leaving her body. A soft groan turned her attention downwards and she saw that Sylvie’s eyes had opened.

“Sylvie!” Molly cried, this time in relief.

“What happened?” Sylvie groaned.

“Oh, you just got yourself in a world of trouble again and had to be saved by the amazing me,” Giovanni bragged.

“Seriously?” Sylvie asked.

“You were caught by a pair of serial kidnappers,” Paige clarified, “But don’t worry, they’ve been taken care of. You don’t remember anything?”

“I remember I was on the phone with Molly… then I was attacked by this crazy guy…everything is kind of a blur after that,” Sylvie replied, “Why am I so tired?”

“The one who attacked you seems to have an epithet that drains the energy from others,” Percy explained, “We should get you to the hospital to make sure everything is all right.”

“Yeah, we should. That kind of exhaustion is dangerous,” Paige said.

“What? What do you mean?” Molly said, “He isn’t just tired?”

“Oh, he should be fine now that these to helped out, but before that … that level of exhaustion can actually result in organ failure. If we hadn’t been around …he’d probably only have had an hour or so before…you know,” Paige explained.

“But what about those other two statues? The ones that we found earlier?” Molly asked.

“Right, I’ll send out a call to have then checked as well,” Percy said.

“Hey!” Mera yelled from across the room, “Didn’t this guy say he was setting up a whole exhibition?”

“Yeah! Why?” Paige asked.

“Isn’t three statues a bit small for a whole exhibition?” Mera yelled back.

Percy paused her hand on her chin.

“Paige…you’ve been tracking the Bandaged Man through these kidnappings for a while now. How many missing people were on your list?” Percy asked.

“Eight, not counting Sylvester,” Paige replied.

A silence fell over the warehouse as they all absorbed this new information.

“That’s six people that are possibly in the same condition Sylvester just was in,” Percy stated.

“That’s also six people we don’t know the locations of,” Paige added.

“Hey! Where did you hide them?” Mera asked as she gave Amous a sharp kick to the stomach but Amous only laughed in between his coughs.

“I don’t think he’s going to be much help,” Giovanni said, “Wait, Phil can’t you track them like you did with the bandaged dude?”

“No, I can only track sounds I’ve heard before. Also, it would take far too long,” Phil replied.

“What about Paige’s little trick?” Mera asked.

“I told you, I’m tapped out,” Paige replied, “Changing the setting takes a lot of stamina.”

“Wait! Maybe we don’t need to find them!” Molly yelled.

Molly hesitated as everyone turned to look at her, a wave of nervousness causing her to shake slightly.

“Um, Phil, I heard that your epithet caused a big blackout, right?” Molly said.

“…well it’s not something I like to be reminded of, but yes,” Phil replied.

“But that means it has a huge range, right? Could you do what you just did for Sylvie? Only do it to the whole city? Then you could reach all of the victims at once, no matter where they are!” Molly explained.

Phil paused for a moment, running his hands through his hair.

“I mean, maybe? The conditions would have to be perfect,” Phil finally said.

“What conditions?” Percy asked.

“My epithet is Resonate. The effects depend on the song but it’s strength and range depend on how many people are singing with me. The night of the blackout I had a whole stadium singing with me,” Phil explained.

“Well that’s easy,” Mera said, “You have a whole stadiums worth of people waiting to buy tickets. You just need to open the door for them.”

Paige walked over to Amous and rummaged around in his pockets until she emerged with a set of car keys.

“Okay, Percy you stay with these two and Sylvester and wait for the ambulance. I’ll get everyone else to the stadium,” Paige said.

20 minutes later the group had discovered that Paige drove the same way she did just about everything else. Fast and recklessly. Molly supposed she should be grateful considering how fast she got them to the stadium but it wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat and, judging by everyone else’s white knuckled grips on any part of the car they could reach, everyone else agreed with her. As they all stumbled out of the van, Phil headed directly for the front door. Molly was too far away to hear what was said but it looked like Phil had a rather heated discussion with the guards, but the guards finally complied and opened the doors. As the group filed in behind him, Phil turned to face the crowd.

“Everyone who is interested in free pre-concert treat, please enter the stadium now!” Phil yelled and then turned and rushed into the stadium.

There was dead silence for a moment but then Molly heard the pounding feet as a stampede of fans rushed for the stadium. Molly rushed after Phil and followed him backstage.

Another 20 minutes passed and Phil walked onstage to a packed stadium. Mera had been right, his fans had been waiting for him.

“Hello Sweet Jazz City!” Phil yelled into the microphone, “It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

“Now I gathered you here for a very specific reason. You all remember the incident that happened at my last show in this stadium?” Phil asked.

The crowd murmured an affirmative.

“Well you won’t believe this, but the Sweet Jazz City Police Department has requested that we try and do something similar tonight!” Phil announced.

A rumble of surprise swept the crowd.

“I know it’s pretty crazy, right? But who wants to show this city all the good some music can do?” Phil asked.

Another cheer erupted, even louder then the first.

“Alright, you know the drill! Sing with me, whether you know the words or not!” Phil yelled.

The cheers quieted as Phil played the opening rift on his guitar but everyone could feel the tension gathering in the room.

_Can you feel this energy?_

_Like crackling, electricity_

_As every heart begins to sing_

_And our souls begin to swell_

_It gathers inside of me_

_It’s feeling just like mercy_

_It’s really just the thing_

_For the tired, weeping soul_

_Let’s share it with the city!_

_There’s no controversy_

_This song will ring_

_Across the world tonight!_

The glow of Phil’s epithet pulsed outwards as the crowd sang with him. Molly felt the rush of energy filling her body. She wanted to cheer but worry held her back. Was it enough? So lost was she in her own thoughts Molly almost missed the ringing of Paige’s phone.

“Molly,” Paige yelled over the singing into Molly’s ear, “We did it! Percy is with the victim from Giovanni’s house. The song is reaching them and she can see it spreading across the city!”

Now Molly cheered for real before joining the song that swept across Sweet Jazz City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone was still wondering about my OC's epithets
> 
> Paige  
> Epithet: Narrate  
> Can summon any object or creature that has been written about on a piece of paper. The more detailed the description the more effective the object and the greater likely hood it will do what it was intended to do. However the greater the description, the more stamina it takes to summon. 
> 
> Phil  
> Epithet: Resonate  
> The effect varies depending on the song but the more people singing along with the song, the greater the effect.   
> Can track any sound that Phil has heard before. 
> 
> Amous  
> Epithet: Petrify  
> Can turn anything to stone.  
> Can control objects made of stone. The better carved the stone, the easier it is to control. 
> 
> The Bandaged Man  
> Epithet: Drain  
> Can drain the energy from other living beings. However this epithet also drains his own energy so if he goes too long without draining someone else, he becomes immobilized. 
> 
> Thanks for coming on this ride with me! I hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
